Furniture Essentials For Your First Home

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Buying your first home is an exciting time for anyone. If you’ve just signed the papers, congratulations!

Now, the exciting bit. After months of saving up for your deposit, signing all the contracts and boring talks with solicitors, you can finally start changing your new house into your very own home. Knowing where to start with furnishing a new home can be a tricky process though, so prioritising the essentials first will help to get you going.

There are a few first home essentials that you’ll need straight away, particularly in the rooms you’ll use the most. So, grab a pen and paper (or make a note on your phone; it’s the digital age after all), and jot down the furniture essentials for each room.

Essential first home living room furniture

The living room is the hub and party central area of the home, so it’s important that everything in there showcases your style. Right at the top of your list of living room furniture should be a comfy sofa. And the first thing to consider before buying anything is how much room do you have for a sofa?

Although a luxurious corner sofa looks great, if you’re moving into a small apartment with limited space, it wouldn’t be the wisest of choices. Spend time researching the right sofa for you, from large leather corner sofas to small and compact velvet 2 seaters – you just need to find the one that best suits your style.

The colour of your new sofa is an important factor in creating a stylish and welcoming home. Go bold by clashing a statement teal sofa with a patterned armchair, or play it cool with a classic brown number. Take your time figuring out which material and colour is best for your lifestyle – if you’re a little clumsy with your red wine at the weekend, a cream fabric sofa isn’t going to be suitable, is it?

Now the perfect sofa has been discovered and added to your basket, it’s time to look at other essential living room furniture pieces, like a sturdy TV unit or classy coffee table.

Many coffee tables come as part of a range, so you can match it to the TV unit, shelving units, and sideboards. Or, mix and match the lot with different materials and styles to create a cool contrasting feel around your room.

Must-have bedroom furniture for new homeowners

Now moving on to the bedroom. This room needs to be perfect as it’s the place you’ll spend a third of your time, even if you are asleep for most of it. Think of a colour that you want to use, then find what colours work well with it using a colour wheel.

Let’s look at some of the essential bedroom furniture you’ll need. The main aim is to get a bed. Not only do you have to think about designs, you also need to know what size will fit within your space. This includes considering whether you will be able to get the new bed upstairs. Large upholstered beds can become a bit of a pain here, especially when going up narrow staircases, so get that tape measure out.

As the bed will take up the most space, you’ll want the rest of the room’s furnishings to tie in with the main feature. Once you have decided on your colour scheme, start to look at bed frame materials and styles. Classic wooden designs like oak and beech will go perfectly with natural earthy tones, whereas a black metal bed will be more fitting in a striking minimalist room.

Other basic bedroom furniture to look at includes storage units like wardrobes, chests of drawers and bedside tables. While a wardrobe’s focus is storing our clothes, drawers and beside tables can be used for decorating elements too. They’re the perfect place to keep your accessories like photo frames and trinkets, whilst also being ideal for bedside lamps and clocks.

Before buying any of your essential bedroom furniture, make sure you have your space measured up, so you can guarantee that all your pieces will fit perfectly.

Dining room furniture and tables for your first home

Dining rooms vary in shape and size, but one necessity amongst the multitude of dining room furniture available is the table. The number of people moving into this new home will dictate what size dining table you need.

If you are buying your first home as a family, you will obviously need a bigger table to cater for all at meal times. If you are buying the place by yourself but enjoy the regular company of your friends and family, an extending dining table will be a good choice. And if you’re really struggling for space, look to space saving dining options that work in even the tiniest of flats.

The dining table is a versatile piece, so it’s vital to get one that meets your demands. Many of us will use the dining table as a place to fold ironed clothes, somewhere to get some work done, and a place to entertain guests. Therefore, finding the right dining table for your first home is a must.

Square and rectangle shapes are most common, but a round table can bring a new vibe to the room. And while a glass table can be striking and bold, a classic wooden table will match with most designs and will be a hardwearing piece that will only get better with age.

Then, its onto the chairs. Do you go for a perfect match or go wild and mismatch the seating? A simple table with different, brightly coloured chairs can bring a bold and lively mix to the table, or swap out half the chairs for a single bench. Remember to consider the comfort element of your chairs; if you’re guests are sitting through a three-course meal there, they won’t want numb bums before the main course has even been served.

Home office furniture for your study room

Having a designated area in your new home to focus on work and study will help you to concentrate on the task, without any other distractions from the rest of the house. If you’re fortunate enough to have a spare bedroom, this is an ideal candidate to morph into a study space.

Although to some it may seem like a boring thing to use a room as, a home office or study room is great for those who often bring their work home with them or are working towards gaining a qualification. The essential home office furniture items you need to create a basic workspace are a desk and a chair.

The equipment and space required to do your work will give you an idea of what size desk you will need. If all you want is space for your laptop and a cup of coffee, you will be happy with a small, compact desk. However, some people require space for their notepads, documents, folders, multiple screens, and will be more suited to a large desk with its own storage solutions.

Desks come with and without drawers, with modern and classically simplistic designs available in a variety of styles and colours to suit your taste.

Next step in the home office essential shopping list is the accessories, like waste paper bins, folder holders, storage and lighting. A desk lamp can quickly illuminate your work area, and you can find plenty of styles to match your décor. Need a little more inspiration? Take a look at our home office ideas for every space.

After you’ve got the essentials in place in your new place, you can start to personalise further with accessories and decorative pieces to make your house a home. Just try to focus on updating one room at a time so you don’t become too overwhelmed with the workload.